Resident Evil 2: Dedication
by Centurious The Azure
Summary: Two boys face off against evil in a city of the dead. Will they be able to survive this hell? OCxRebecca Mild OC/Claire This is a message to a friend: Dragoon Swordsman. A dedication, if you will. A more dedicated explanation inside.


**Resident Evil 2: Dedica****tion**

Hi there, everyone. This content might seem confusing to all you. I had the inclination to post this mostly because I missed an old friend. I'd like to dedicate this short story to Dragoon Swordsman. We always talked about writing our own RE fics. We did this little RP here a few years ago. I saved it, and continued to reread it every so often. Reading this made me think about my friend on the Jade Series Forum in the Gundam SEED section. He kind of went up, and vanished one day several months ago. Sort of like Claire, I always wondered where my good friend went. I'm posting this as a memorial to my lost friend. Hopefully, wherever you are Dragoon, your life is full of happiness. When you see this, I hope you'll come back to us. I cleaned up our old RP just a bit. A lot of this is true to the original. I'm not looking for reviews and fame from this. This is merely a message to a friend.

Andy Clarke, and Dr. Clarke belong to Dragoon Swordsman. Daisuke Dojima belongs to yours truly. Resident Evil, and all characters within belongs to Capcom. One day, I hope these guys will wake up, and go back to the old formula. Hopefully, REmake RE2. Well, thanks for reading in advance everyone. Much love to you. Even to the haters. Especially you, old buddy. You are the best of the haters. I miss our arguments.

With that out of the way…let the story begin!

"Yo! Been a while, Andy!" Daisuke waved over to him, calling out to him. A big grin flashed on his face. He ran up to his senior, weaving through the crowd. "Haven't seen you since last spring durin' graduation! How's it been?"

"I'll be leaving for college soon," the older teen said. "This'll be my last night on the town, then it's off to my Dad's alma mater." He smiled faintly, a distant look in his green eyes. "Figure I'll see Sergeant Brinkman at the police station, thank him for all the lessons."

"Awesome." Daisuke smiled brightly. He gestured casually, a simple wave. "I can't wait to get out of this one horse town. Seriously, you're pretty lucky, dude. I was heading over there myself..." He shrugged at the coincidence. "Dad's got some stuff he wants me to get for him. Meeting Rebecca afterwards..." His grin faded entirely, his face becoming a grim mask. "She's leaving town soon, too..." Daisuke scowled deeply. Traces of bitterness came into his voice. "The entire town's given her and the rest of STARS a pretty shitty time about the Spencer incident. Rebecca said she needs to get away from here. I don't blame her..."

Andy shrugged. "Forget the town, just that bastard Irons is more than enough. How someone like that got to be chief of police..." He trailed off. "And he isn't the worst, or at least he wasn't always. I met the late Alpha Team captain once. Irons is just a scumbag, Wesker was creepy as hell."

He shook himself. "Hey, no point in rehashing all that. Brinkman's a good guy, and there's Branaugh. Can't stay too long, though; I promised Lex I'd meet her in the park tonight. You know how it is."

Daisuke shivered a bit himself. He had met Wesker several times through Rebecca. Something about that guy was always wrong. He couldn't see his eyes past those mirror aviator styled glasses, but he could tell there was nothing behind him. It was as if... He didn't see the rest of the human race as people. Just things... Bugs to be crushed.

Daisuke genuinely smiled after hearing about Lex. Letting the foul remembrance fall away, he regained his usual lazy demeanor. His half lidded stare had a bit of a twinkle. "Great." Daisuke chirped, waggling his eye brows. "You and Lex-senpai have always been a great couple. You guys gonna finally tie proverbial knot?"

"Lex-senpai," Andy repeated. "You and your..." He shook his head. "To answer your question, once we finish college," he said. "She's looking at computer programming, I'm probably going to be a double-major, virology and neurology." From anyone else, such a statement would have been at best braggadocio, at worst transparent dishonesty. From Andrew Clarke, Raccoon High's resident boy genius (or so some claimed), it was simply the truth.

"I'm going to see about getting a job with Umbrella," he went on, looking up into the afternoon sky. "After what happened to Mom..." Andy trailed off. Even after over a decade, his mother's death from cancer ate away at him.

Daisuke got quiet. His golden brown eyes traced the outline of his feet, remembering hearing about Andrew's mom through his mother. His mother and Daisuke's had known each other since grade school. It was a pretty big blow to her when she heard the grim news. Daisuke remembered his much his mother cried when Mrs. Clarke passed. It honestly was a punch his gut too. Not being able to do anything about her tears. It sort of reminded him how powerless people were against the world... There was lot of things you couldn't do anything about. That was one of them...

Daisuke's arm threw itself over Andrew's shoulder. "Say Senpai..." The Japanese American teen grinned playfully. "Feel like shooting up some targets...? I know an officer that can hook us up. Say my dad's name and he'll drop the lead for us like rain. Officer Kev's cool like that."

"No need for that kind of influence," Andy said with a smile. "I've been on the range plenty of times. Where do you think Sergeant Brinkman taught me?" Not waiting for a response, he started off, fingering the .45 automatic he kept in a shoulder holster under his jacket. "As good a way as any to pass the...time..." He slowed, eyes narrowing. "What the hell?"

Daisuke blinked, raising a light brown brow. "What's wrong, Andrew?"

Andy didn't answer right away. He strained his ears... "I hear screaming," he said at last. "Can't tell where it's coming from but..." He frowned. "Groaning...a riot of some kind? What in the name of..." Visibly tensing, he drew his .45 and gave it a practiced once-over. "Something is very wrong, Daisuke," he said in a low voice. "Is it too much to hope for that you're armed?"

Daisuke shrugged. "Always am, Senpai..." He fingered the hilt of his own concealed weapon, a switch blade hidden in his pocket. He carried a long, black case along with that. He grinned a feral white smile. "I was going to take this back for dad, but..." His grin got bigger. "Dad wanted me to take back his Benelli back to the storage locker... I wanted an excuse to try it out."

"Just make sure you're ready," Andy said, still in that low voice. "I -son of a bitch!"

Three men were approaching them from perhaps twenty yards away. Ordinarily that wouldn't have been cause for concern, but Andy's sharp eye could tell even at a distance that something was very wrong with them. They were covered in blood, they moved with a curious, shuffling gait, and their eyes... Andy had to force himself not to throw up. Their eyes were a milky white.

"What do you make of it, Daisuke?" he asked, barely managing not to stutter.

Daisuke couldn't believe his eyes. The smell was overpowering... Stench of rot, and dead flesh. He had seen enough cheesy horror flicks to automatically know what this was. "Zombies..." Daisuke gasped in disbelief, cursing foully . "Shit... You gotta be kidding me..."

A mournful cry escaped the walking dead. A hungry one. He gritted his teeth into a sneer . "Shoot them in the head, Andy." He hissed. The case thudded dully on the sidewalk. He produced the sleek fuselage of the Belleni Super 90, the red shotgun shells loaded with an audible click. It was a repeated cycle until full. Twelve rounds in all. Enough to wipe these flesh bags out. "Not the body. That won't do anything to them. And whatever you do..." He said quietly, almost with a cold fear. "Don't let them bite you. It's the end if you let them... Trust me, you don't want to know the results."

"Damn, damn, damn," Andy hissed, settling into a classic two-handed shooter's stance. The big .45 barked, bucking in his hand, and one zombie's head exploded. He shifted aim, screaming in his mind even as he took the second undead in the bridge of its nose, then almost jumped out of his skin as his companion's shotgun roared, blasting the third clean in half.

For a long moment he stared at the immobile corpses. This isn't happening, he thought numbly. This can't be happening! "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded of the world at large. "Damned zombies walking the streets of an American town!? It's like something out of a bad horror movie!" And Andrew Clarke hated good horror movies.

"Fuck me..." Daisuke whispered harshly. His gold eyes were the size of saucers. The curses continued in a foul mantra. Daisuke almost had the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. He did anyhow. "Rebecca was right..." Daisuke said flatly, finally regaining his composure. Trying to restrain his disbelief the best he could. And his anger... The entire world was turned on its head. "Umbrella... It had a lab in the woods. Hidden under the Spencer mansion. They carried their secret experiments there beyond inquiring eyes. Some of the experiments escaped... And mauled some of the locals. You know those pair of little girls that were murdered last summer, man?" He narrowed his eyes dangerously. Not on Andy, on the screams that he heard a block away. "That was their handiwork." He gestured to chaos slowly unfolding around them and to the corpses at their feet. "The T-Virus is what it's called."

Andy froze, his own eyes going wide. Dad...Dad works for Umbrella! Could he...? "Damn it," he said again. "A virus that turns people into zombies, those incidents this past summer..." Almost without thinking, he spun and put down another zombie that had tried to sneak up on them.

"You know my Dad works for Umbrella," he heard himself say. "I hope he has nothing to do with this; Umbrella does legitimate medical research, too, you know that as well as I do."

"Let's save that for later, Andrew..." Daisuke said slowly, expression ice cold. He kept on a facade of calm. One thing he learn from his hardboiled detective father other than shooting, was how to stay cool under pressure. He unloaded another roaring blast onto a zombie brave or brainless enough to try to shuffle towards them. The zombie dropped down with a satisfying thud. He suppressed a savage grin.

He waved Andrew over towards an alleyway. "C'mon..." He said coolly. "Let's avoid the crowded streets. Take the side roads and alleyways. The main roads will be death traps..."

It was a journey through Hell, Andy reflected later. Within half an hour things had spiraled out of control. The undead were everywhere; even in the back alleys it was impossible to completely avoid them. Nor were humans the only creatures affected by the virus; twice Andy found himself shooting infected dogs.

An hour later, all semblance of sanity had fled the city. Sirens, explosions, and gunfire warred with the moans of the undead hordes and the screams of the dying. For all practical purposes, Raccoon had ceased to exist as a functioning city.

"We can't keep this up forever," Andy said when they paused to rest. "We need a specific destination; wandering around like this will just get us eaten." He gasped for breath, then his head snapped around. "Footsteps? Doesn't sound like a zombie." He raised his pistol, vaguely aware of Daisuke bringing up his shotgun. "Who's there?"

There was a pause, and a girl stepped into the firelight. She, too, was armed; Andy saw a Browning Hi-Power clutched in her hand. Good, that meant someone else who could take care of herself.

Daisuke sighed, letting himself nod hesitantly. "Good point. We should try..."

He heard footsteps. Not the slushy, meaty steps of the dead. Thankfully. Still, he knew better than to drop his guard. He spun around in concert with his partner. His arm was trained rigidly on the young woman. "Freeze..." He ordered evenly. "If I hear a moan, I'll blow your head off. No second chances. No quarter."

Daisuke didn't know why he was being so terse. It wasn't like him. Maybe the situation was getting to him. Not yet... He couldn't let himself fall apart. Not until he found Rebecca.

"You're not more of them," the girl said, visibly relieved. She slowly lowered her weapon. "Sorry, it's been crazy. I just came here to look for my brother."

"And I was having one last night on the town before going to college," Andy said. Seeing her made him think of Lex... "My name's Andrew Clarke, Andy to my friends." He jerked his head at his companion. "That's Daisuke."

"Claire Redfield," the girl said. "My brother Chris is with the RPD, a member of S.T.A.R.S.. Do you know him?"

Andy frowned slightly. "I think I've met him once or twice. Part of Wesker's team." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Would you like to come with us? Assuming it's okay with Daisuke, of course." He cocked an eyebrow at the other teen.

Daisuke lowered his weapon and smiled apologetically._ "Sorry, Claire-san..."_ He said slowly. Japanese slipped into his speech accidentally. It was his nerves again. Maybe he wasn't as cool as he thought. "I mean, Sorry." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He looked the girl up and down... Not for reasons most guys usually do, he quirked an eyebrow at her. He had sudden realization, snapping his fingers. "Shit, you're that Claire!" He exclaimed, smiling a bit. "He loves talking about you. Brags like you're his daughter. He showed Rebecca and me your baby pictures. You were a cute kid. Still are, in fact."

Claire starred at him, relief showing on her face. "You talk a lot." She said humorously, smiling a bit. "I'm glad to meet somebody who knows Chris."

"Some people say that. I'm fine with it..." He shrugged. Shouldering his shotgun, he looked over to Andy. "More dakka is always helpful. Especially if she's Chris's sis. She's gotta know a thing or two about survival."

"Just the way she holds that gun is proof enough," Andy agreed. "She's no amateur. Anyway, I figure we should head for the police station. If anywhere is safe in this hell, it's there. Worst case, we'll at least be able to pick up some better weapons."

"Well..." Daisuke shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. He joked to ease the tension. Golden brown eyes suspiciously shot around. Silently praying nothing would come. "Welcome to the team, Claire. We still have yet to think up a cool name yet. Or the team colors. I was thinking we'd call ourselves the Zombie Dodgers or the Backalley Alliance. I suggested the La Chupacabra Stranglers from the outset. Andy wanted something to do with bigfoot. There's no way bigfoot would be out here in the middle of this. He's too skittish of a creature to even consider going near this chaos. He won't listen, though."

Claire starred at him flatly, shaking her head. Daisuke smirked back. "What a time to joke around. I guess it's not bad if we have somebody around here to lighten up the situation."

Andy gave the other teen a weary glance. "Pay no attention to this nut, Claire," he said. "He's always had a very strange sense of humor." He drew his pistol again as the three moved cautiously down the street. "For what it's worth, I don't think your brother is in town right now. I have a friend on the force; he told me S.T.A.R.S. isn't exactly in Chief Irons's good graces right now."

"I don't know anything about that," Claire admitted. "I just want to-"

She broke off when Andy held up a hand. Pressing up against a nearby building, he very carefully looked around the corner. "Daisuke, did your Rebecca say anything about humanoid creatures with exposed brain cases and fourteen-foot tongues?"

"That's just because you have no sense of humor, Senpai." Daisuke chuckled and glanced over to Claire. "Don't get too tense around this guy, Claire. He looks serious, but he's really a softhearted guy. Mostly a soft spot for amoebas and singular cell organisms." Daisuke smiled easily, voice playful. He followed the others cautiously. Checking the shadows for anything that went squish or drip in the night.

They suddenly stopped, Andy's upheld hand stopped them as they round a corner. Daisuke shrugged. He suddenly got a very bad feeling, one he tried very desperately to deny. "Not that I know of..." Daisuke replied, holding up his Belleni 90. Daisuke walked up and glanced around the corner. "Shit..." Daisuke cursed softly. He stammered nervously, swallowing hard. "T-t-that's new... Um... I elect we should go the other way. Any objections...?"

"Not from me," Andy said, the knuckles on his gun hand whitening. "Claire?"

"I'm all for not meeting that thing," she said with a grimace.

With that, they slowly skirted the road, pausing only to check their surroundings. Fortunately, there wasn't much around, alive or undead. Andy was just starting to think they'd make it to the police station without incident when movement caught his eye.

Now what? Briefly wishing for a set of NVG, he brought his gun to ready. "You guys might have a better view, but I think I see some kind of lizard. It's big, green, and scaly, anyway."

Daisuke's expression lit up a bit. He hefted his shotgun with a big grin. "I know this guy..." Daisuke chirped as if talking about an old friend. "They're called Hunters. A nasty set of claws on them. They like decapitating their victims with a running jump. It's a their favorite method. Can't say I'm a fan. I rather like my head connected to my shoulders."

"Damn," Andy said. Truth be told, he was becoming inured to this. Maybe it said bad things about his psyche, but at least he was still alive. "We're just a block from the station. Take this thing out, and the way should be clear." I hope.

Daisuke shrugged, making a casual suggestion. "That or..." Daisuke paused for dramatic effect. "We can take a detour. I know the Kendo gun store is around the block. I know Uncle Rob will accommodate us. Give us free ammo. Maybe a few weapons to round out our arsenal. We can cut through the back... Around killer mean green. The Raccoon police station has a back way we can take advantage of. An entrance that leads through the poncy side garden Irons had commissioned a few years ago."

Andy's lip curled at the mention of Irons, but he didn't comment. "All right. I know Kendo's place, actually. We can stop there first, but our final destination pretty much has to be the police station." He felt his pocket, grimacing. "Besides, I only have one spare magazine. Get some ammo, and get moving again." He gave his companions a significant look. "And at the station, we should be able to find out what happened to Chambers and Redfield."

"Alright." Daisuke smiled brightly at the mention of Uncle. It had been a while since he had seen him. His senior year had been rather busy so far. And Robert had been dealing with an overflow of customers. All looking for some hot, fast protection in burning lead. The incidents last summer had left most of the residents of Raccoon uneasy. His Uncle Robert was more than happen to help. More cash for him.

Daisuke's expression hardened. He merely nodded back. That was their mission. If he knew what happened to Rebecca, he could handle himself better. He hoped she left the city... Daisuke hoped to god she did.

He slowly led the way to his Uncle's Store. The streets were slightly more firey and zombie infested. A crashed cop car and a tanker had made a mess. More like a fiery hell of the street. Daisuke's shotgun came up, roaring fire. A few zombies who were dumb enough to be in his line of fire collapsed into a bloody, fire lit heap. "Didn't know it would be this bad..." Daisuke visibly grit his teeth. Another shot split another zombie in twain. "Hope Uncle Rob's alright!"

"And my Dad. And Lex," Andy agreed.

Something about this seemed wrong. How could a virus, especially one that clearly wasn't airborne, turn a city the size of Raccoon into a living hell in less than twenty-four hours? Nothing in his studies even came close to explaining it; not even Ebola had the sort of widespread, ultrafast effect they'd witnessed.

And that was without taking into account some of the nastier creatures they'd encountered. The zombies had obviously started out human, and the dogs were a given, but what about that Hunter thing? Andy was no zoologist, but he'd never even heard of a reptile that looked anything remotely like it.

_What the hell is going on!?_

Daisuke dodged around a zombie with ease. He pulled the trigger, a click. "Damn it. Empty..." He cursed vilely, deciding to keep running. The shotgun came around in a wide arc. And bludgeoned a female zombie upside the head. A sickening crunch... It fell to the ground. Daisuke didn't stay to check if it stayed down. He round the corner with Claire and Andy in tow. He threw open the door, meeting a tall blood stained man standing behind the counter. A shotgun trained on all three of them.

"Wait!" Daisuke cried out, throwing up his hands. "It's me, Uncle Rob!"

The older man blinked. Not totally believing his eyes. "Daisuke! You're alive, boy? I can't believe it!" Robert lowered his weapon. A glad smile came up on his face.

"Alive as I can be, Unc..." Daisuke deadpanned. He gestured to his Belleni 90 fondly. "All thanks to Uncle Joe's handiwork."

"Umbrella..." Kendo whispered in disbelief. His eyes narrowed on the wide store window. "It figures." He deadpanned, shrugging. "Never doubted the STARS boys for a moment." His eyes drifted back to his nephew. Robert grinned devilishly. "How's things going with that little medic girl, Dai? Your mom says you've been spending a bunch more time with 'er. Even spent the night once, from what I hear..."

Daisuke blushed a bit, his eyes shot to the ground. "It's really nothin' like that..." He said dismissively. Not convincing at at all. "Rebecca just needed a place to crash for the night..."

"Riiiight..." Robert teased. "And I sell swords here. Sold a zweihandler to some guy rocking a red trench coat the other day."

"We're actually on our way to the police station," Andy said, all business. "We need more weapons and ammunition, a place to rest if possible, and Claire," he nodded at the girl, "is looking for her brother. Chris Redfield, another S.T.A.R.S. member."

He moved to the window, staring grimly out at the street. "Somehow I'm going to get to the bottom of this," he said, half to himself. "Dad works for Umbrella. Does he know, or is he part of the legitimate side of things?"

Robert shouldered his shotgun. Frowning thoughtfully, he slowly strolled passed the counter out onto the sales floor. "Sure..." He shrugged. "I can help ya kids out..."

He turned to Claire, tilting his head curiously. "You're Chris' lil' sis?" He offered hand to her, laying it on her shoulder comfortingly. "You shouldn't very worried. Guy already left the city. Heard he was going to Europe. I guess he needed a place to lay low after the Spencer mess..."

Claire, Robert, and Daisuke chatted amicably. Some peace was found in the gun shop at least for a few moments.

Andy barely heard. He was busy field-stripping and cleaning his .45, as Sergeant Brinkman had taught him. Though not ordinarily mechanically-minded, he was quick and professional. It gave him something to focus on, a distraction, however brief, from the hell that was once Raccoon.

"Mister Kendo, has there been any sign of my Dad?" he asked at last. "He had some business at the lab, so he wasn't home when I left, but..." Andy shrugged helplessly.

"'Fraid I haven't..."

Was all the answer he got. The glass shattered and all hell broke loose. Kendo didn't even have a chance to register. The zombie horde was already on him. A mass of flesh and rot tore him limb from limb. Slowly... Robert screamed. The Screams didn't stop. Daisuke froze in place, watching everything happen in graphic detail. He didn't know how to register it. It was all just too much.

"Uncle Rob! Get off of him, you freaks!" Daisuke finally cried. He ran over to him, his empty shotgun raised over his head. He swung at the amorphous mass of bodies. Blood flew. A zombie crashed to the ground. Daisuke swung at the next, hoping to god he'd save him. He swung again. And again. Again, again...

"Damn!" Andy and Claire were both firing, dropping zombies like flies. All, he knew, for nothing; even if he survived the bites, Robert Kendo was beyond saving. Which meant he had only one choice.

Forgive me, Daisuke. Shifting aim, Andy put a single bullet through Kendo's temple, silencing him forever.

"I'm sorry, Daisuke," he said quietly. "It was too late. He would have ended up as one of them regardless. Best to spare him that much."

Daisuke dropped to his knees in the aftermath. The Belleni clattered to the floor along with him. "Uncle..." He sobbed, crawling over his uncle corpse. He cradled the body, it was still warm. He could still...

"Please be..."

A crack of fire. Gore exploded in Daisuke's face. All over him, blood spattered. He was already dirty from the scuffle. "No..." Daisuke whispered. Tears streamed down his face, looked up at Andrew and Claire. "We still could have..."

"I had no choice," Andy repeated. He moved to the counter and began searching drawers. "Both of you, grab whatever you can carry; I want as much firepower as we can manage."

"Right," Claire acknowledged.

She's got spirit, Andy noted absently. "Daisuke," he said in a firm voice, "are there any other nasty surprises we can expect? We've already seen zombies and dogs, not to mention those Hunters and whatever the hell that spear-tongued creature was."

Daisuke still stared at his Uncle's corpse. He held the corpse as if it were still alive, slowly crying. He didn't answer. He seemed to be in his own world. Seemingly just broke as the rest of the corpses.

"Daisuke!" Andy said sharply. "This isn't the time. I know you're upset, but we have to move. Stay here, and we'll end up the same...or worse." He laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Grieve when it's all over."

His Uncle's body thumped to the floor. "Right..." He got up, something resembling smile came up on his face. A twisted version of it darkened his face. A pistol came into his hand, the silvery form of the STI Eagle 6.0 he pilfered from his uncle's side holster. "Are you sure I'm not dead?" He whispered hollowly. "I've got blood all over me. I-I must have been wounded or something."

Andy shook his head. "You were killing zombies at close range. That plus my last shot must have splashed on you." He waved at the door. "C'mon, let's go while we can. The station isn't far."

"A-are you sure, Senpai?" Daisuke asked, stammering. He clenched his chest. "I hurt all over. I kinda feel like I got impaled. And bit all over..."

The pistol came to his head, finger rested on the trigger. "If that's so..." He concluded. His golden eyes were wide and crazed with grief. "And I'm standing I must be one of them! Help me, Senpai. I don't wanna end up like them... Not like Rob. Not like them. Not like them. Not like them. Not like..."

Andy started to reach for him, but Claire got there first. Her hand lashed out, striking Daisuke across the face. "Don't be an idiot!" she snapped. "Look, I don't know you, but you're not about to turn into one of them. I don't see any bites there."

"She's right," Andy said. That girl has some spirit. "Now let's get moving. The sooner we reach the station, the sooner we can find out about your Rebecca," he went on, emphasizing the name ever so slightly.

A sudden sting brought him back into himself. Daisuke blinked, cupping his cheek. He stared wide eyed at Claire. None of the crazed grief from before laid in his amber orbs. "Yeah..." He laughed in self-depreciation. Just now realizing how crazy he'd been acting. "Sorry, guys..." He smiled painfully. "I don't know what got into me..."

Daisuke merely nodded at Andrew. His Uncle's sacrifice wouldn't be in vain if they found out what happened to the remaining STARS. If they survived, it would make it all the more meaningful. He gathered all the ammo he could silently. Daisuke found a new a shoulder holster for his uncle's Eagle. And a strap for his Benelli M4. It hung from his shoulders nicely. The shoulder holster was rather snug against his lean frame, but he figured he could deal. If he ran out of ammo for his shotgun, he could easily transfer over to the Eagle rather easily.

He looked to Claire and Andrew, putting on a big smile. All the energy and pep seemed to be back... "What new toys did you guys find?" He asked happily, pumping his shotgun casually.

Andy slipped an M4 carbine over his shoulder. "Your uncle evidently supplied the RPD; I'm pretty sure a lot of this stuff isn't civilian legal. Not that it matters now." He scowled. "If the government has any sense, they'll nuke this place."

"Fine, so can we just get moving?" Claire broke in impatiently.

A smile touching his lips, Andy nodded. "Of course."

Daisuke shrugged, replying casually. "Even I don't know half of stuff that my uncle was into." A wry smile. "I'm pretty he'd supply the zombies if they paid him."

He led the way to the back door. A long, dingy back alley awaited them. A few zombies shuffled around the basketball court he used to call his stomping grounds as a kid. "Sorry, boys." Daisuke squeezed the trigger, giving the dragon living in his gun permission to roar. Blood and meat flew. "Don't have time to play."

Deciding it would be wiser to let the man with the shotgun take point, Andy and Claire drifted along behind. "Almost there," Andy muttered. "Just another block, and we're there." He could see the station ahead. It still looked intact. At the least, it wasn't burning. "Keep that browning of yours handy when we get there," he cautioned Claire.

"Don't you trust them?" she asked pointedly.

"The street cops, sure, except for an idiot named Vickers." Andy shook his head. "No, it's Chief Irons you have to worry about. I wouldn't put it past him to be doing everything except what will actually help. Typical corrupt police chief."

Daisuke snorted disdainfully from the front. "I heard Chickenheart Vic is the reason why your bro got into this mess to begin with..."

Claire tilted her head curiously, half out of confusion. It was obviously some in joke.

"Chickenheart is Vickers' nickname on the force," Andy explained. "He has a well-earned reputation as a coward."

"Yep..." Daisuke laughed, gesturing animatedly from the front. "I snuck up on him once and went 'boo!' real loud. You should've seen the look on his face. God, that was classic. Rebecca told me smelt faintly of ammonia the entire day. I don't think that stain on his pants was coffee, either!"

Claire smiled a bit, not saying anything. It was just nice to have a reason to smile a bit.

"Pay no attention to the low humor," Andy said, then spotted a familiar face. "Dan! Finally, something goes right!"

Sergeant Dan Brinkman, RPD, lowered the gun he'd instinctively drawn. "Andy Clarke! You okay, kid?"

"For now," Andy said. "We were just heading downtown when this mess started. Feels like a bad horror flick or something, zombies and who-knows-what-else running around. Just what in the hell is going on here?"

"Wish I knew," Brinkman said. "Chief Irons is going bonkers, don't ask me why. Never liked him anyway."

"Why am I not surprised." Andy grimaced. "Anyway, we were hoping to stay here at least for a little while."

Brinkman nodded. "It's as safe a place as any. You, Daisuke, and..." He looked questioningly at the girl.

"This is Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield's little sister," Andy explained. "She's in town looking for him, talk about timing." He managed a grim smile. "Claire, this is Sergeant Dan Brinkman, the guy who taught me everything I know about guns."

"Glad to see you're alive, Sarge." Daisuke threw Brinkman a jaunty salute. Amber eyes looked around superstitiously for any signs of the undead or otherwise. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of Irons going bonkers. Daisuke chuckled, grinning playfully. "Knowing the Cheify, he's probably got that place set up like the Most Dangerous game. Traps and monsters everywhere. I bet he's probably already gotten to stuffin' one of them inside out monsters..."

"Whatever," Andy said before the sergeant could reply. "Let's just get inside and get something to eat."

"Oh..." Daisuke grinned, light bulb popping on in his head. "This is perfect."

He followed after energetically. One could almost say he was skipping.

"Seriously, all that guy thinks about is food," Andy muttered. "Well, whatever." _I think a nap would do me, too. Can't fight zombies without a good night's sleep._

"Not only that!" Daisuke's hand lashed up, pointing to the sky. He plodded though the alleyway, carefully stepping over the zombie he'd obliterated casually. "We can raid the place's puzzles. Irons bought all kinds of gaudy crap over his tenure as Cheify. Who knows what kind of secrets we'll find! Or what we can hock for cash later on!"

"I don't care about that," Andy said darkly. "I just want food, a nap, and to find out what's going on here. Preferably in that order." He stretched out on a convenient cot. "Wake me in two hours, if the zombies break through the barricade, or if Irons comes calling, whichever comes first."

"Suit yerself, Senpai..." Daisuke shrugged. Plopping on his own cot, he looked to Claire. A boyish smile came onto his face. "You feel like going on an adventure, Claire? I know this stupid easy statue puzzle that's on the way to the STARS office. We can get rich and find out about your bro at the same time. Swear, I'll split the profits down the middle with ya." He put a hand over his heart, feigning a solemn voice. "Scout's honor."

Claire gave him a sour look. "What about him?" she asked, jerking her head at their slumbering companion. "You want to leave him alone, after what he said about Irons?"

Daisuke frowned slightly. Shoulders slumped as all the energy drained out his body. "Sorry..." He lowered his head shamefully and confessed quietly. "I'm still reeling from what happened earlier." His expression compressed painfully. "I just need something to take my mind off of what happened to my uncle... I don't think of this as a game. I don't know what to do other than this. If I don't, I feel like I would fall apart..."

"I don't blame you." Claire sprawled next to Andy's cot. "How do you know my brother?"

Daisuke grinned at the mention of Chris, nodding to Claire thankfully for the change in topic. "My dad introduced us..." He started to explain fondly. "He's a detective here. Your brother might have mentioned him. He's Ryotaro Dojima. He's one of the best in his department. He was heading the investigations of the cannibal slayings before Irons gave it over to STARS."

Claire grimaced. "You mean like those freaks outside?"

"One in the same..." Daisuke nodded grimly. "Dad wasn't particularly bitter about the handover. He knew it was a bit over his head after he figured out the pattern. All of them were occurring on the edge of the city. Inside the Arklay forest, practically. The odd jogger or a hiker would just vanish. And end turn up deep in the woods later, disfigured beyond recognition, It was too big of an area for the regular police to cover alone. People of STARS expertise were needed to help circumnavigate it. And if there's something STARS knows, it's how to make extreme situations reconcilable. Most of them are Ex-military types like your bro, afterall."

Claire nodded. "Yeah, Chris served for a while." She looked worried though. "I ran into a cop when I got here. You know someone named Leon Kennedy?"

Daisuke shook his head, thoughtfully looking towards the bland ceiling until a light recognition came into his face. "That name does sound familiar..." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah! Pops said there was going to be a newbie heading in fresh outta the academy this week." He looked around around the room for anybody he thought looked new. He saw a tall man wearing a traditional raccoon riot vest. All decked out in dark police blue. He didn't think the guy looked familiar. "Hey, greenhorn!" He called out to guy in a voice that sound too much like a superiors. "Get over here! Lady says she knows you!"

"Dammit, Daisuke, are you trying to wake the dead?" Andy winced at his own choice of idiom, but pressed on. "Seriously, we've still gotta fight through half the city if we want to make it out alive."

Daisuke grinned childishly. "Chill, senpai..." He said in a low voice. "I think anybody will mistake you for the dead before I do. 'Sides, what can happen when we're in police station of all places?"

He saw the man in blue plodding over to them a silly grin on his face. "You look greener than I do, Kiddo." Kevin Ryman snorted humorously, gazing on their decked out firearms sitting on floor. "What's with the firepower? You guys look like you're ready to join the force!"

Daisuke smiled easily back at the man. "With power comes great responsibility, Kev. And we've got a lot of it!"

Both young men shared a laugh.

Andy and Claire traded glances. "To hell with it," Andy said, grimacing, "I'm not going to get any sleep anyway. Officer Ryman, I'm not interested in joining the force, I'm interested in getting out of here alive. Now where the hell is Irons? Not even he could be stupid enough to ignore that."

He picked up his M4. "And where's the rest of the force? I know you guys are understaffed, but damn, this is insane.

Kevin's usual cheerful expression grew grim He still tried to keep his casual attitude. "He's locked up his office." He shrugged. "Probably getting all creepy weird on the Mayor's daughter."

Daisuke scowled at the mention of Irons. He'd never liked the Chief, either. "Yeesh..." He rolled his eyes. "You thought that was a good idea to let him take her to his office ALONE?"

Kevin glared at Daisuke. "Look," He said seriously. "We can't deal with a crazy person and this outbreak at the same time. I tried... Honestly, I did. He shot at us. He fecking shot at us, his own damn men. By the time we got up to fire back, he was gone and locked in his office. God knows what he's doing to the poor girl..."

"Then let us deal with the Chief," Andy said, a hard look in his eyes. "I'm not in the mood to humor idiots; what that bastard apparently doesn't realize is people are dying and worse out there."

"I'll come with you," Claire said, slapping a fresh magazine into her pistol.

Andy gave her a brief smile. "Thanks. Daisuke?"

"Ehhh..." Daisuke waved him off dismissively. He got up to his feet and hefted his shotgun. "Have I ever walked away from a decent hunt?"

Daisuke plodded off with a sense of conviction in his step. He pumped his shotgun to emphasize his point. Amber eyes shared Andrew's hardness. "Let's go, guys. We gotta readjust his psychopathic behavior. I advise a strong lead suppository. Dosage effective STAT."

"Sick," Andy muttered. "Very sick. Just what-" he broke off, listening close. A skittering noise... "Oh, dammit, don't tell me that's what I think it is."

Claire skidded to a stop. "What?"

"Why am I suddenly reminded of that long-tongued freak we ran into downtown...?"

"Crap..." Amber eyes wide extremely wide. A crash of glass sounded off. Daisuke barely had enough time to dodge as a red shape smashed through the window. His shotgun barked fire followed by a sickening scream cutting through the air. The monster had apparently been grazed. Crimson dripped from the thing's side at a totally wrong angle. It clung to the wall, impossibly sharp talons dug inches thick into the white walls. The monstrosity roared again. Tongue lancing out from its mouth like lightning, it took aim at Andrew. Threatening to cut his throat bloody vermilion.

Andy sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the spear-like tongue. His gun came up, centering on the creature's exposed braincase. "Take this, freak," he snarled, pulling the trigger twice. It dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Andy knelt by the corpse. "I think I speak for all of us when I say...what in the hell was that?"

Claire frowned deeply, starring daggers down on the fallen monster. Was this what he brother had to deal with?

Daisuke kicked the dead thing's head. "Not that it matters." He said dismissively. "It's just as dead... Nice shot. Almost got me there..." He breathed out a relieved sigh. "Thank god for karate enhanced reflexes, right?"

"And firepower," Andy agreed. "Shoot some bastard with a .45 and he stays bloody shot!" Pressing against the wall, he edged to the office door. "Chief Irons!" he snapped. "You ready to do your job yet!? We just took down something that would happily have had you for lunch!"

"Who the hell are you?!" A greasy thick voice demanded from the other side of the door. "I told you incompetents to go fucking bite it! This hellhole isn't worth a damn anymore! Neither are you!"

"Help! Help me, please!" Another voice cried out. Clearly female, and on the edge of tears. A smacking noise. Metal against bone and flesh.

"Shut your hole, whore!" Irons all but screamed. "Your father left me in charge of you! You don't have anything else, but me! Your daddy doesn't give crap about you! Why should they?!"

"Dammit!" Andy snarled. "No time to be subtle. Daisuke, I think you're going to have to be the door opener."

Daisuke nodded. "Yo, Angela! " Daisuke called out to the Mayor's daughter. "Keep your head down!"

Two shotgun blasts tore the door to splinters. Daisuke dropped the Shotgun and took out his Eagle. Whipping it up, he shot at Irons. Irons ducked down. Barely in time for the bullet that dug into his shoulder. Second dug into his side. And into his liver.

"Fuck!" Irons hollered in extreme pain. Gun clattering down to the floor, he flopped down into his office chair. "You assholes shot me! You actually got me! GAAAAHHHH!"

"Save it, Chief," Andy said icily. "Claire, do me a favor and shoot anything undead that approaches that door." While she moved behind him, he returned his attention to the stricken police chief. "What the hell is going on here, Irons? Is this connected to the incident in the mountains last summer?"

"Hahaha!" Irons laughed, coughing fits shot through him. Blood dribbled down the edge of his mouth along his chin butt chin. "Kids got me? You gotta be shitting me... I thought for a moment that Redfield and his bitches actually manned up to come get answers."

"So you do know something," Andy bit out. "Answer me, Irons! Is this really Umbrella's work!?" The knuckles on his gun hand were bone white. Does...does Dad know...?"

Irons crowed laughter again. "What makes you think you're gonna get Jack from me, Kiddo?" The overweight RPD Cheif taunted, lips arching into a crude sneer. "You'd better have some pure Do-Re-Mi on ya. The information I got is worth more than the entirety of the city ten times over. You got the big bucks? What are you? Some self-righteous Umbrella exec's wet behind the ears white swimmer? That's how I got this job, kid. I wheel and... GAH!"

Daisuke's fist suddenly collided with Iron's fat face. Irons' meaty ass satisfyingly thudded on the floor. The hammer on Daisuke's Eagle clicked in to place. Cold fury set Daisuke's amber eyes alight to the point of almost seeming to glow orange.

"Tell us...' Daisuke demanded evenly, jaw set firmly. His expression was colder than the Arklay peaks on the winter solstice's midnight. "Or else I'll shoot off every fat toe on your clubbed foot."

Daisuke didn't take his gun off of Irons. Irons glared up at him. Daisuke didn't waver. For a long moment, he was silent. "Okay. Okay." Irons grinded through his teeth. "Just get your mean ass attack Shiba off a me. And then we'll talk! Get me some medical attention here, I'm dyin'! Goddammit!"

"Back off, Daisuke," Andy said wearily. He looked hard at Irons. "Fine. Now answer the question. Does my father know?"

"Fine." Daisuke rolled his eyes, lowering his silvery STI. "Tell me one thing, though." He narrowed his eyes dangerously on Irons. "You should know, Chiefy. It's obvious you were keeping tabs on her. Where's Rebecca Chambers?"

Irons grinned lustfully, practically purring her name. ."Rebecca Chambers. That nice piece of ass. I heard you were going out with her, Dojima. You tap that yet? I know I would. I'd bend that..."

Daisuke's gun cracked. A hole beside Iron's head smoked vengefully. Irons was wide eyed. Not quite believing he was still alive. "Sensitive..." Irons crooned. Regaining his composure somewhat. "Alright. She's still in the city. That's all I know. I swear. She's probably dead, but who knows?"

"What a creep…" Claire commented acidly. "I don't think I'd mind if we shot him."

"Enough," Andy said, sick of it. "Irons, you have no idea how tempted I am to kill you, but in this mess it would be a waste of ammunition. Chris Redfield is out of town, so that's one thing..." He frowned, thinking. "...All right. Claire, I can't force you to come along, but for Daisuke and me, the best thing to do at this point is find Lex and Chambers, and get to the bottom of this."

"I'm with you," Claire said promptly. "We've gotten this far together."

"Oooh..." Irons snickered perversely. "Thinking of gathering a little party, kids? Young'uns are pretty kinky these days."

Andy slowly turned. "Watch your tongue, Irons," he said in a soft, deadly voice. "Considering how many people have died because of your inaction, I think any jury in this country would label killing you as justifiable homicide. We don't have time for your perverse innuendo." He stalked out.

Daisuke sighed. "You're lucky, Irons." He stepped over to him, kneeling by his side. "My friend is the type who actually spares sick assholes like you. Even though he'd probably get away with it."

Irons snorted. "Yeah, really stupid..." He tried getting up, feeling the cold barrel against his skull. "YOU'RE NOT..."

"Oh, I am..." Daisuke smiled from ear to ear. He glanced to the door, Claire and Andrew had already left. They left Irons to his devices. He heard a small groan. The Mayor's daughter, Angela, slowly stirred awake. Daisuke scowled deeply.

"Very lucky..." Daisuke cheerfully noted, waving off Irons energetically with his free hand. Daisuke went over to the girl and picked her up gently in a bridal style manner. He slowly left the room.

Irons called after him painfully. "Hey, that's mine!"

"Not anymore..."

"Daisuke, you're the one who knows Chambers," Andy said, not slowing. "Any idea where she'd be in this hellhole?"

Daisuke could think of a dozen places or less off of the top of his head. "If anything..." He muttered thoughtfully. "She'd be with Jill or Barry. Mister Burton is probably sipping tea with Chris in Europe right now. Jill might be here. I'm not sure, Rebecca tells me stuff. Not everything... They should be held up in a secure place. I know that much."

"Lead the way, then," Andy said. He glanced back at Claire. "I'm worried about Lex -Alexis Kincaid, girlfriend- but I need to talk to someone who knows about this lunacy. Chambers is a survivor of the mansion incident."

Daisuke nodded. "I'm all for it..." He jerked the bundle in his arms towards Andy. "What should we do with Angela..."

A new voice muttered. "Daisuke..."

He smiled down on her gently. "I'm here, Angela. We dealt with Irons. No problem."

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Daisuke felt her peck his cheek. Angela's bruised face smiled up at him. "My hero..."

Daisuke blushed flushed brighter than the sun. "I wasn't the only one!" Daisuke stammered. "Andy was the tactical mastermind and Claire was awesome, too! I'm pretty sure she was the one who shot that rump roast Irons!"

Andy ignored the byplay. He'd heard a distinctive shuffling noise. A glance at Claire confirmed that he wasn't imagining things. Another zombie. Just great. "Heads up, we've got more undead on the way." He turned the corner.

And stopped dead in his tracks. What he was seeing... It just wasn't possible. "No. No, no, no! N-Not you too!" He took a step backward, eyes wide with fresh horror. "This can't be happening!"

Angela screamed. "No! Not you too, Lex!" Fresh tears ran down her face. At the sight of her best friend... Shuffling down the hallway, Mournfully crowing for their flesh. Angela buried her face in Daisuke chest. Trying to desperate deny what she was seeing.

Daisuke's jaw fell to the floor. "Senpai..." He shook his head desperately. "No..."

"Damn it!" Andy screamed. "Why, why!?" He tried to raise his pistol, but his hands refused to cooperate. He staggered back, unable to tear his eyes from the creature that had once been someone he loved.

The flat crack of a gunshot shattered the tableau, along with the zombie's ravaged head. Andy slumped to the ground a moment later, his gun falling from nerveless fingers. Claire Redfield stood to one side, the Browning still smoking in her hand.

Daisuke didn't know what to do or say when he saw Alexis. In a crack of gunfire, his senior's head vanished. Dropping to the ground with a meaty thud. Nothing other than that made her any different from any other zombie he put down. Yet, seeing her fall made it all the more pain. Alexis was somebody he considered important to him. She was such a kind and understanding person. Lex and Andy had gotten a group of bullies off his back that had been torturing him during his freshman year. Not many people wanted to say what happened to them. A lot of them excused their bruises as them falling or running into doors. Daisuke knew better... He'd become enamored with Alexis. Treated her like the big sister he'd never had. And she did, in return, treat him as a younger brother. He'd grown close to both of them in his years at Raccoon High. When they graduated, it made his senior year seem all the more lonely.

Another life too good for this bloodstained city left, maybe even for the world, vanished from the face of existence. All in a simple crack of gunfire. The world seemed a lot colder then...

"Andrew…" Claire called his name gently, tinged with worry.

After what seemed an eternity, but was really about ninety seconds, Andy got shakily to his feet. "I'm sorry, Lex. Sorry this had to happen, sorry I couldn't...do it myself." He scooped up his pistol. "No time to grieve. First order of business, find Rebecca Chambers, assuming she's still here. Then," his expression turned grim, "check out my father's lab. If there are any answers, they'll be there."

"Senpai..." Was all Daisuke could manage. He held Angela in his arms, letting her cry her eyes out. Angela sobbed Alexis' name time and time again into his chest. He couldn't offer anything other than his presence for all of them.

They continued through the police station. Dead silence. No yodeling zombies or drippy tongued Lickers to brighten their night. They entered the main hall, officer Ryman ran up to them. Catching his breath, he looked up at them. "Wow!" Ryman grinned at them. "Reports say you really got him! The Chief's in lockdown right now! You kids did a real number on Irons, I'll tell ya. He yowled like a little bitch when we had Racheal treat his wounds. Hahaha!"

Ryman blinked, finally noticing the grim atmosphere. "Um..." He started awkwardly. "You all look okay. Why the long faces?"

Andy jerked his head at the fallen zombie. "That used to be my girlfriend," he said bitterly. "I was going to ask her to marry me when we finished college. Now..."

Ryman couldn't say anything for a long moment. "I'm sorry, Andrew..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Listen, you kids should at least get rested up. Take anything you need. That's the least we can do you guys. Heck, we'd even appreciate your help here. We're short on people as is."

"Maybe a bit of a rest," Andy conceded. "Beyond that..." He shook his head. "We still need to find Chambers, and I need to see if my Dad knows anything; he works for Umbrella, after all." He sighed. "And no offense, Officer, but trying to hold the station is pointless. There's too many of those freaks...and if the government has any sense they'll nuke this place." He turned, gazing sightlessly at the fires and undead hordes visible even at a distance. "If you want to live, get out of town. One way or another, Raccoon City is doomed."

Ryman grinned a bit glancing to Daisuke. "Two girls, man..." Kevin whistled. "The Mayor's daughter and that genius STARS chick? What're you gonna do?"

"I'm not in the mood, Officer." Daisuke stalked past Ryman. His bangs obscured his face; you couldn't tell he was crying. He shoved Angela into Kevin's arms. She fell back into unconsciousness. Maybe it was for the best. Ryman rolled his eyes, watching Daisuke walk towards the designated sleeping area.

Ryman snorted lightly. "What's his problem? I thought he'd be happier than anybody else about gettin' the girl."

"The city has gone to hell in a hand basket, his uncle ended up a zombie's dinner, and he liked Lex a lot, too." Andy held up one hand. "Take your pick."

'Shit..." Ryman cursed quietly. "I didn't know..."

Ryman decided his presence wasn't need. He walked off in Daisuke's direction. He needed to apologize and give Angela place to rest.

Daisuke lazed on his cot, flatly starring up at the ceiling. He turned onto his side, gun poking into his side. It hurt, but Daisuke didn't care. He didn't feel like caring about anything right now.

Andy sat against one wall, brooding. It was becoming increasingly difficult to believe his father had nothing to do with the hell outside. Too much pointed to Umbrella, and Doctor Clarke wasn't exactly a low-level researcher.

"How do you know him?"

Andy jumped. He'd forgotten about Claire. "Huh? Oh, Daisuke." He shrugged. "He's from Japan originally, 'course you could probably tell that by the way he talks. He came here, must've been ten years ago now. Wasn't exactly popular at first, new kid times twelve you might say. He got better, though. More athletic than I ever was; I've always been the brainiac type, even if I am one of the best shots in town," he added with a tired grin. A grin that quickly faded. "He's got it rough..."

Daisuke got up, grabbing his shotgun, silently walking past Claire and Andrew. He didn't even turn his head towards them when he spoke. Japanese came out at first, drawling twang in his voice. Kansai dialect. He didn't totally get the Japanese out of him. Even when he had been here for ten years. Daisuke quickly corrected himself. _"Gomen..." _He put his hand over his mouth. "I mean," Daisuke said, regaining his perfect American normal accent he'd worked on over the years. "Sorry." He sighed deeply. "I'm too wired to sleep. I'm gonna go to the STARS office. Maybe that'll give me some clues as to where Rebecca is..."

Daisuke sincerely hoped it would help. He continued anyhow, regardless of them following or not.

"All right," Andy said. "C'mon, Claire, let's see what my would-be samurai friend is up to."

Daisuke threw open the door to the STARS. He smiled sadly at the empty messy office. Everyone one of the desks had some sort of mess exclusive to the former owner. Barry had his guns and weight lifting equipment. Chris had his guitar. He heard Chris was learning to try to impress Jill. Jill had her lockpicking set... Wesker. He glared at the former captain's desk. If he were alive, he'd shoot him dead himself. Rebecca told him all about the would be double agent's betrayal. How he shot in her square in the chest... Only to be saved by her bullet proof vest. He held Barry's family hostage, used them as leverage so he could gain the upper hand on the team. He got his in the end. Fell by his own creation... A decent ironic death, if he ever head of one. Daisuke let out a silent curse in Japanese. He hoped that where ever he was... Hopefully in some Shinto, Muslim, Buddhist, or Christian version of hell. Wesker was suffering.

He drifted towards Wesker's desk with purpose. It was ten times messier than any other. Whoever had been here last tore it apart looking for something. A memo or something... Jackpot. He thought, in the wrong way. A picture of Rebecca in a skimpy training outfit... He grinned to himself. "What a find..." Daisuke said to nobody in particular.

"Did I mention he's a bit of a lech?" Andy said, rolling his eyes. "Must've slipped my mind. Anyway, find anything besides that photo, Daisuke?"

Daisuke shrugged. Slipping the photo into his pocket for later, he gestured towards Chris' desk with his shotgun. "Chris was clearly in a hurry..." He noted easily. "He left his journal. Probably not anything useful. I bet you it's probably doodles of guns and little bits about how much he loves Jill."

Daisuke took it anyhow... And handed it to Claire. "It's probably is meant more you anyhow. Before he left, he was pretty troubled... He talked a lot about you before he left. Chris said he was going to bring down Umbrella for you. His baby sister."

Claire managed a genuinely kind smile. She held the leather bound book to her to chest lovingly. "Thank you, Daisuke. This…means a whole lot to me."

Daisuke sheepishly grinned back at her, he shrugged carelessly. "No problem…"

"Fine," Andy said. "All right. If Chambers is still in town, we might meet her on the way. Especially if, like us, she's trying to get to the bottom of this mess."

The fax machine fired up. Clicking and clacking whatever message together for them. Daisuke ripped it from the press when it was finished. It was warm on his fingers. "Yeah..." Daisuke chuckled. "Irons is a dirty cop. Thank you Captain Jack "Obvious" Hamiliton. Blah, blah. Thanks already knew that. Oh, shit..."

Daisuke stopped. His mouth hanging open. He handed it to Andrew. "Umbrella's been busy, Andy." Daisuke said grimly. "A new virus is in the works... And it has your dad's and another's name on it..."

"Son of a bitch," Andy snarled, almost ripping the paper. "I'd hoped -you have no idea how much I hoped- Dad had nothing to do with this. Damn it!" He took a deep breath, looking at it more closely. "Birkin, where have I heard that name..."

"I know Wesker threw it around once or twice..." A new voice added. Almost a shrug in its voice.

Daisuke's eyes widened. The words that left his left mouth had the most importance in the world to him. "Rebecca..."

Rebecca Chambers smiled big at her boyfriend. "In the flesh, handsome." She chirped. Daisuke was on her in in a moment. He threw his arms around her in an all-consuming hug. Rebecca returned it with just as much gusto. "You don't know how worried I've been about you, you dummy." She whispered affectionately. "You said you were gonna meet me at your place before I left."

"Sorry..." He murmured back, kissing her ear. "I got into a little trouble. The kinda trouble that smells like vomit in reverse and yodels hungrily for flesh."

Rebecca giggled. She placed a kiss on his cheek. He did likewise. "I know that brand all too well. Yeesh. You're all bloody, Dai. Did you decide you go with a samurai sword or somethin' for a weapon..."

"Maybe I did..."

The two shared a long, passionate kiss. It was as if the entire incident hadn't happened...

"Can't this wait until after the Zombie Apocalypse?" Andy grumbled. "Never mind. My name's Andrew Clarke, and that's Chris Redfield's sister Claire. My father is an Umbrella researcher, according to this," he waved the fax, "up to his neck in the whole mess. We're on our way to the lab, see if we can get some answers."

Rebecca smiled deviously when they broke off the kiss. A certain hunger laid in those eyes. Her hands traced down his athletically sculpted sides. "Later..." Rebecca mouthed to him. Daisuke looked pretty disappointed. Rebecca reassured him with a tiny peck on the cheek. Daisuke blushed deep red. His head was still foggy from their kiss. Rebecca decided to do the talking.

"There's no time like the Reckoning." Rebecca playfully winked. "Daisuke's told me all about the famous smarty pants Andy Clarke. He makes his "Senpai" sound like Albert Einstein. I'd like to test that assumption one day..." The last part sounded like a serious challenge. Daisuke knew Rebecca had a lot of pride in her intelligence. His girlfriend seriously wouldn't let the concept of another genius in her midst go untried in a court of brain power.

Rebecca looked to Claire softly. She smiled gently at her. "You're Chris lil sis?" Rebecca plodded over to Claire, looking her up and down. Tall and voluptuousness. Curvy, too. The whiz kid frowned a bit. A bit jealous. "You're even cuter than your pics!" She threw a sisterly hug around Claire. "I owe your brother a lot so don't be afraid to ask for a quick fix, 'kay?"

Claire hugged her back awkwardly. Maybe this was what she needed after all the crap they'd been through. "I'll be sure to, Rebecca. Chris actually told me a lot about you, actually. It's nice to meet you."

Rebecca broke it off. A mischievous smile little smile on her cherry lips. "So..." Stepping back to Daisuke's side, she weaved her fingers into his. "Now that we got that outta the way, why don't we discuss where go next? I know a few lovely sewers that lie under this happy place. Regular tunnels of love that Umbrella set up leading to their labs."

"Why am I suddenly attracting weirdos?" Andy muttered. "No matter. Lead the way, Officer Chambers." He threw a glance at Daisuke. " 'Smarty Pants Andy Clarke'?"

"Who says it's you attracting them?" Rebecca asked brightly, obviously overhearing his snark. She pulled Daisuke along. He obediently followed. Giving Andy a helpless little smile, Daisuke went along. "Don't piss her off, dude..." Daisuke whispered as quietly he could. Motioning to the white can hanging from her belt emblazoned with hot red fire stickers.

Before they knew it, they were in the basement. More precisely the basement parking lot. It was quiet. Other than the lapping of a dog's tongue in the background. Wet and obviously hungry. "Crap..." Daisuke cursed. The tapping of its claws on the pavement gave signs of several getting closer. "Not dogs..." He complained. There was a joke somewhere in there. "My people have done a lot to them. Certain dishes that read chicken are never chicken. It's dog. You think it's a racial stereotype. It's not... Mom cooks a pretty mean dog on the wok..."

Rebecca chuckled. Raising her MP5, she had a feral little smile on her face. "I won't let them get you, hon. Age old war between Asians and dogs or not."

"To hell with all of this," Andy growled. "No dog here is Man's Best Friend, that's for damn sure. I must've seen half a dozen of those dogs already, to say nothing of whatever else-" He broke off, eyes going wide. "Okay, what in the Umbrella arsenal has footsteps that loud?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

A sudden squeaky pain laden cry. A black and bloody blur flew across the parking lot. Smashing into a wall, it made a thick snapping sound. A bloody splatter of what used to be man's best friend. Something even meaner slowly lumbered across the parking lot. Casting a long, threatening shadow over the wide parking lot. Each loud step made the dread in the atmosphere thicker. It almost seemed to take minutes, hours for it to show itself. It had merely been only mere seconds. The lumber in shape finally came into view. Taller than any man, and thicker than any linebacker. Broader shoulders than any body builder. Its eyes were blacker than any void. Deader, and more callous than the eyes of a unrepentant killer sitting on death row.

Cloaked in black from head to toe, the man lumbered forward wordlessly. Its grey, alien head twisted in their direction. It Regarded them with no emotion. No killing intent or even rage. Just the cold hard facts. Kill. Death. Slaughter. Maim. Rip. Crush. Destroy. Eliminate. Every negative possibility ran through its head. All of them equaled one thing.

Death. Death to all who are in the way.

Daisuke gaped, confounded by the concept of the being before them. "What the fuck is that..." Daisuke said breathlessly. Not even able to lift his weapon.

Rebecca's sharp elbow bit into Daisuke's side. Daisuke regained himself. "Stay cool, Daisuke..." She ordered. "This thing... It's worse than the last one. Be on guard. Whatever you do. Don't let it get you. A single swing that that gets on you means death."

The thing stomped forward. Not the least bit worried about them. Just another road block. Another colony of ants to step on. It lifted its giant head sized fist.

"SCATTER!"

The world broke into a hail of gunfire. Hellfire on the blue spectrum. And grey clammy fists able to break any man.

"What the bloody hell," Andy breathed, diving to one side. "That thing...whatever it is, it sure as hell is no zombie."

Daisuke was the first to open fire, his riot shotgun viciously barked fire. It hit the too human monstrosity in the side. Black blood pooled. Nothing more than that. "Okay!" Daisuke hollered, barely dodging a huge fist thrown his way. Daisuke jumped back, continuing to pelt it. "That didn't do jack! You're the expert, Rebecca! Tell us what we should do!"

"Keep moving!" Rebecca yelled. The MP5 fired a controlled burst aimed for its legs. She narrowed her eyes on the creature, remembering her encounter with the one during her time with Billy. "Shoot it in the legs! It might not kill it, but we can slow it down!"

"Crap!" Daisuke cursed. Why was this thing focused on him? He dodged low, barely avoiding another burly fist. Daisuke looked around. He searched for anything that could help. He took off past the black cloaked giant. "Hey, guys! We need something heavier! Grenades! Magnums! Anything!"

Daisuke's eyes lit up. He wor an evil smile. Legs picked up speed, taking him towards the large paddy wagon. "Hey, guys!" He whistled. "Keep this sonvabitch distracted! I've got a crazy idea!"

"Damn, damn, damn!" Andy snarled in frustration. "Doesn't this thing have any kind of weak spot!?" He took aim at the freak's knee, firing twice. "I am so sick of this! Chambers, what in the hell is that thing!?"

"I don't know!" Rebecca snarled back. She thought those three words weren't in her vocabulary. A click. She scowled. A new magazine smacked into the place of the old one. "It looks like a variation of the Tyrant type we fought back at the Estate. It's more human now. Streamlined for control purposes, I guess. The one back there was generally uncooperative with Wesker and killed him. Best thing Umbrella ever did for anybody!"

Rebbeca saw something out of the corner of her eye. The flashing of headlights. "Oh, shit!" Rebecca was already on the move. "Get outta the way!"

A thrumming of a large engine sounded off. Daisuke honked the horn of a large vehicle. The RPD paddie wagon barreled through the large parking lot. "Gangway!" It smacked into Mr. X, as Daisuke had just dubbed him, with a sickening thud. Colliding into the concrete wall, Mr. X went limp. Just a smear of black ichor.

Airbags popped into Daisuke's face, protecting him from any too severe damage. Daisuke's head whipped back. Good thing he had the foresight to strap himself in... He grinned viciously despite how much he hurt all over. "Eat metal, you freaky asshole..."

Andy had another snide remark on his lips, but it died when the Tyrant was incapacitated. "All right, let's get going," he said, eying it uneasily. "I somehow doubt that thing is dead."

"He's lucky," Claire said, giving Daisuke a slightly nervous look.

Andy snorted. "He's living proof of the danger posed by teen drivers."

Daisuke grinned at everyone. Rebecca was him helping out of the truck. Scowling, she scolded his idiotic attempt. "You're such a moron!" The former STARS medic almost screamed. "Why'd you do something so stupid?! You could have killed yourself..." Rebecca felt tears on the edge of her eyes. "Great..." Rebecca choked a sob, trying her best to hold it all back. "Now you've got me all..."

Rebecca felt a clammy hand pull into into an embrace. "I'm sorry..." He said quietly, kissing her on her head.

"You're cold..." Rebecca complained, she was practically almost in his lap inside the car; burying her head into his shoulder. A futile attempt to quell her tears on her part. She really hated this part of it. Being so worried all the time. She just wanted to get everything over with already. Fast forward to the end. "And stupid..."

"I'm sorry for both..." Daisuke said gently.

Rebecca sighed. "I'll forgive you. You die..." She reminded him shakily. "And I won't forgive you. I'll take it back. All of it."

"I wouldn't expect you to..." He agreed, pulling her even closer. He gave Rebecca a kiss to the forehead.

Rebecca smiled a bit despite herself. "Let's go."

Daisuke merely nodded back. Lopsided smile telling how glad he was to be alive. Rebecca hopped down, reaching out a hand to Daisuke. He took it, squeezing affectionately. She returned it. "Hey, you guys!" She called out, waving them over. "He's okay. Nothing more than a case of minor burns, bruises, and slight loss of sanity..."

"Hey..." Daisuke feigned offense, scowling as if he'd taken a major blow to his ego. "It worked didn't it?"

Rebecca chuckled, shrugging. "I guess if it works... It's not stupid, right?"

"Those two." Andy shook his head. "Never mind. The sooner we get to the lab, the sooner we can get out of this hellhole. Officer Chambers, do you have any idea what's happened here today? I know something about the T-virus, but no real details."

Daisuke jumped down from his high perch in the truck. Their hands still entwined with the others. Rebecca looked to Andrew, her other hand tapping the MP5 hanging from her shoulders thoughtfully. Rebecca frowned deeply. Too much had happened at the hands of Umbrella's monstrous creations. Not at the creations... They were victims, too. Just another extension of their evil deeds. A pale blue eye shifted towards the T-Type... Even guys like Mr. X. Pity dropped like an iron weight in her heart. Another reason to fight.

Rebecca shrugged slightly. A finger came up to her cherry lips. "What do you want to know?" Rebecca's normally sweet voice tightened. Losing all the affection she was reserving for her boyfriend. "Anything specific..." She admitted hesitantly. "Like how this happened. I can only guess at. Maybe there was an accidental leak... Like at the Spencer Estate."

"Sounds like Umbrella doesn't grasp the concept of quality control," Andy grumbled. "Or workplace safety; OSHA would have a field day with those loons."

He paused long enough to shoot an obviously-infected crow. "We're not far from where my Dad works now. Time to get some answers."

Daisuke cut in, his own voice became bitter. "They obviously don't give a damn. They can bribe anybody they want, right..." He secretly hoped that wasn't true. "They have a strangle hold on this town. Who's to say they don't have one over the government. Their lobbyists pay off the Senators and Representatives. They put pressure on the lower organizations that are keeping Umbrella under a strict eye. That eye turns away. While the cat's away, the mice play. Yanno."

"Power corrupts," Andy muttered. "Okay, here we are."

The heavy oak door bore a bronze nameplate that read simply "CLARKE". In no mood to deal with the card slot, Andy drew an item he'd scrounged from the police station before they left.

"Miniature blasting charge of some kind," he explained. "Just enough to get this door...open!"

The office was just as he'd seen it so many times. One wall was covered in racks of test tubes and other assorted equipment. Another was devoted to bookshelves.

Andy ignored both, instead rifling through the papers on his father's desk. Some were routine, others seemed to have no significance at all. One had an oblique reference to bribery, which wasn't exactly surprising. The rest...

Confirmed his worst fears.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed, trembling with fury. "Son of a BITCH! That bastard!" With a savage, incoherent snarl, Andy swept an arm across the desktop, scattering everything on the floor. One item, a framed picture of himself and his father, landed face up. He stared at it for a long moment, face twisted with hatred and betrayal, and then brought his booted foot down on it

Daisuke couldn't meet Andrew's gaze. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be betrayed by somebody so precious to him. Made him glad his father and mother were out of town. They were probably worrying about him if they heard about Raccoon. They were probably desperately trying to call home. Only getting an empty dial tone. The merciless drone of despair.

"Andrew..." He walked over to his senior and best friend. Putting a calming hand on his shoulder. "Save your rage, alright?" He couldn't bring himself to smile. Not even a comforting one. Just grim determination laid in his amber eyes. "Channel it into surviving. You and Claire saved me back at my Uncle's store. You saved my Uncle by sparing him a fate worse than death. I was actually really going to kill himself when I saw him die like that. I'm going to save you like you did me." He heard Rebecca say something gasp or protest or something. He ignored her, continuing anyhow. "I know you won't kill yourself. You're better grounded than me, but if you let your rage control you. Make you do something you regret. Maybe your dad, after seeing everything in Raccoon, sees the error of his ways. A man of science shouldn't be able to stand something he helped make being unleashed like that. It's sorta like Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb. Him and the other scientists regretted ever creating it. Some of them worked the rest of their lives to make up for their sins. Maybe, if you gave you dad the chance. He'd repent, too. I don't think he could stand it, either. Seeing his son like this. I know I'd hate myself if I ever did wrong to anybody I loved..."

"Just talk to him when you see him." Daisuke said gently. "No guns or weapons. Two men. Father and son talking to each other."

"I think that's an excellent idea."

Andy spun around, barely aware of his friends doing the same. "Dad," he breathed. "What...what the hell is going on!?"

"This is all really a tragic accident," Doctor Clarke said. "The T-virus apparently leaked into the water supply, and Birkin's treachery hasn't helped matters."

"So you did know," Andy said. There were tears in his eye, though from pain or rage even he didn't know. "All this, all because of Umbrella...because of you!"

His father sighed. "Calm yourself, Andrew. Do you really think I wished for Raccoon City to become a necropolis? You know better than that, son."

"Dad," Andy choked. "Lex...Lex was infected! She turned into one of those creatures!" He was shaking now. "But you don't care, do you!? You don't give a damn about her, about me, about anyone else! It's all for your precious research! You don't care how many people die, how many people become zombies, as long as you get the data!"

"You wrong me, son." The older man shook his head. "I am truly sorry about Alexis. She would have been a great asset."

Andy's fists clenched. "A great asset to Umbrella, yeah," he said. "All that matters is her brain. Well it's too late now, Dad, her brain is in a thousand pieces!"

"Doctor Clarke..." Daisuke started. He was almost afraid to ask. "Why? Why all of this...? Why work for people like this... Weren't you afraid what Andrew would think?"

Clarke shrugged. "I thought he would understand, as he was planning to seek employment with Umbrella himself. I was looking forward to working with him, actually."

"Not a chance in hell of that now, Dad," Andy bit out. "This, this is worse than anything the damned Nazis did! So many people, dead or walking dead, all for science." He spat the last word like a curse. "Science, and Ozwell Spencer's greed."

"Come now, Andrew," Clarke admonished. "Everyone needs money, you know that."

"I refuse to profit from other people's suffering!" Andy snatched up his pistol. "Now I see what happened in the mountains. At least Wesker got what he deserved."

Daisuke bit down on his lower lip. He grabbed onto Andrew's shoulder as if asking him to lower his weapon. "Doctor..." Daisuke said finally after taking a moment to think, he opened his eyes. His piercing Amber gaze locked directly onto Andrew's father. "Is what you're doing related to your wife? I know she died of Cancer. My mom was your wife's best friend. She cried for days on end. It took her months on end to get over it. I can only imagine how it was for you. There must be a wound on your heart even now, right? Somehow this research relates to it... You wanted to stop what happened to your wife from happening to anybody else. I know the G is a mutagen. Cancer cells are mutated cells. If you found out a way to control the mutation process, you could also apply that to cancer. Curing the disease or at least causing it to lay dormant..."

"Very perceptive," Doctor Clarke said, giving Daisuke an approving nod. "Yes, Eileen's death had an impact on my path." For just a moment, his voice turned regretful. "Perhaps if I had done this sooner, she would be alive today."

"And maybe if you had, Mom would be a zombie, and you'd be her lunch!" Andy snapped. "Dammit, she would never have wanted to risk that," he angrily gestured at the chaos that was once Raccoon City, "even to cure cancer! How the hell can you even think of justifying this!?"

Clarke's expression hardened. "I see I am wasting my time. No matter. I have other things to attend to. Goodbye, son. Perhaps someday you will understand." He turned away.

Andy's gun snapped up. "What makes you think you're leaving here alive?"

"You won't shoot me," the doctor said, not bothering to turn around. "Not here and now, not while you're still in turmoil."

"Maybe I will," Andy countered. Then he sighed, and slowly lowered his weapon. "You're right, I can't do it now. But it's not over." His voice trembled. "Umbrella is going down, Dad. And the next time we meet, I swear I'll kill you. From now on," he took a deep breath. "From now on, I'm alone. I have no family, not anymore."

"A sad waste." Clarke reached the door, paused, and looked over his shoulder. "The Air Force will launch a nuclear strike at dawn. I suggest you be out of Raccoon before then." Then he was gone.

"Doctor Clarke..."

Daisuke frowned. He knew nothing he said could change anything. Doctor Clarke's actions had already poisoned his son against him. "I can't believe you'd risk even your son's love for this..." Daisuke whispered. He didn't mean to say it out loud. He looked to Andrew. Almost felt like doing something anything. "Maybe I should have taken your burden for you."

Daisuke's hand snapped up. His Eagle spat fire. A shot Sailed above the Elder Clarke's head. Impacting the wall he was facing. "Stay." He ordered sternly, his voice cold as ice. "I have more questions. Isn't your son more important than anything you could possibly do? He's your greatest creation. Something even beyond science could create. He's here, man. He came to find you. You're his most important person. Even though the bonds of hatred are formed now... There was love at one point. A man no matter filled with rage could hate their own father forever."

"If you just stayed..." Daisuke almost was begging. "You could redeem yourself. There's always another exit doctor. There's no need for it any of it. I'll give you a choice. Redemption or death. It doesn't matter if it's me or Claire or even Rebecca. Somebody will make you pay. There are a lot of people who lost something here. Including me. Only thing that lies beyond that doorway doctor is death." He patted Andrew on the shoulder. "Your son is your means of setting things right. Your hands can't do a thing. You're already tied by the shackles of sin. Anything you do will lead only to more death."

"Save it, Daisuke," Andy said. "There's nothing more to be said. There's nothing more we can do here." Suddenly, he felt tired, more tired than he'd ever been. "It's time to say goodbye to Raccoon City."

Doctor Clarke didn't say anything. He left for the final time. It was death. He chose death. Daisuke himself couldn't bring himself to completely comprehend it. Maybe the weight of your sins was too much for you...

He watched Andrew's back leave slowly. Lethargically: as almost if any feelings of hate or love had been drained from him forcefully. He felt Rebecca's hand curl around his. "You tried..." Rebecca reminded him. The atmosphere was that of a funeral. It was as if Doctor Clarke's tomb was his office. He left his soul in there to face the cold doom of eternity.

"Yeah..." Daisuke smiled sadly. His own hand squeezed tightly around hers. The smile on her face was a mournful one. "We can't die just yet..."

Rebecca and Daisuke took off after Claire and Andrew. There was only path to venture. Leading past the halls of the dead and into the realm of the living where the promised future could be found.


End file.
